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General Congregation 32

One September 8, 1973, after much deliberation and preparation, Superior General Pedro Arrupe issued a letter that announced the 32nd General Congregation of the Society of Jesus would begin in December 1974. The appointed delegates gathered in Rome not to elect Arrupe’s successor but rather to because of what historian John Padberg has described as […]

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General Congregation 31

The 31st General Congregation of the Society of Jesus was the first in Jesuit history to meet over two independent sessions, meeting first from May 7, 1965 until July 15, 1965, and then again from September 8, 1966 until November 17, 1966.  The delegates in attendance (224 in all) represented roughly 36,000 of their Jesuit brethren

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Decree 6: “Collaboration at the Heart of Mission,” General Congregation 35 (2008)

The last decree issued by the 35th General Congregation concerned the “dynamism” begun by the previous congregation of Jesuit delegates in 1995. The decree below contains the delegates’ call for renewal by the members of the Society of Jesus of “our commitment to apostolic collaboration and to a profound sharing of labor of the life

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Decree 9: “Poverty,” General Congregation 34 (1995)

“In order to ‘feel’ [sentir] the anxieties and aspirations of the dispossessed in an Ignatian way,” the following decree from the 34th General Congregation declares that Jesuits “need direct personal experience” of poverty.  The decree explains poverty’s “apostolic and prophetic dimension” (it serving as the “unequivocal condition of our credibility”), offers guidelines to “renew our

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Decree 8: “Chastity in the Society of Jesus,” General Congregation 34 (1995)

The following decree from the 34th General Congregation is a lengthy discussion of chastity within the context of the Society of Jesus: the call to chastity, its apostolic character, the meaning of the vow of chastity, and some normative principles and guidelines for a chaste lifestyle). The delegates, in approving this decree, did so as

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Decree 6: “The Jesuit Priest: Ministerial Priesthood and Jesuit Identity,” General Congregation 34 (1995)

The delegates at the 34th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus undertook a “specific consideration of the priestly dimension of Jesuit life.” In the decree below, they conclude that, despite the continuing reverberations of the Second Vatican Council, “it remains important that Jesuits continue to have confidence in the value of the apostolic service

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Decree 11: “Union of Hearts and Minds in the Society,” General Congregation 32 (1975)

This lengthy decree is the response of the delegates to the 32nd General Congregation to the “rather large number of postulta” (or petitions) they received on the “spiritual life”—especially prayer and obedience—and on common “spiritual discernment,” notes historian John Padberg (see the congregation’s historical preface in Jesuit Life & Mission Today (2009), pg. 274–276). The decree

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Decree 6: “The Formation of Jesuits,” General Congregation 32 (1975)

The delegates to the 32nd General Congregation approved the following decree, a lengthy statement on the process of Jesuit formation in light of the “many changes in the world at large.” The influence of those changes meant that “constant adaptation is required in order to be sure of achieving the essential purpose of our formation.”

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Decree 21: “The Better Choice and Promotion of Ministries,” General Congregation 31 (1966)

The delegates of the 31st General Congregation assessed the apostolic works of the Society of Jesus and acknowledged that “our labors” were not yielding the desired results. The decree below credits some poor results to a failure to “renew our apostolic or missionary spirit” and a “too great scattering of our forces.” The main reason

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